Window washing and drying mechanism



Nov. 20, 1923. 1,474,840

" J. MARTlN WINDOW WASHING AND DRYING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 5, 1921 5Sheets-Sheet 1 IT ESS: INQVENTOR.

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Nov. 20, 1923% K537484413 J. MARTIN WINDOW WASHING AND DRYING MECHANISMFiled Nov. 5, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 via I C? Q I .WMZ'

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Patented Nov. 20, 1923.

PATENT JULIUS MARTIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WINDOW WASHING AND DRYING MECHANISM.

Application filed November 3, 1921. Serial No. 512,456.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JULIUS MARTIN, a citizen of Hungary, residing atChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in lVindow Washing and DryingMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to window cleaners and more particularly to anautomatic window washing and drying machine. The prime object of theinvention is to provide a machine that may be applied to a window toautomatically wash and dry the window pane. Another object is to soadjust water conveying and applying mechanism relative to the waterreservoir that the window pane may be washed longitudinally, and thatwindows at varying distances from the ground line may be readily reachedand washed. A still further object is to provide mechanism whereby bothsides of a pane may be washed simultaneously and dried in the samemanner.

More specifically the invention provides a machine having acompartmental reservoir on which is carried a frame having windowwashing elements capable, when set in operation, of travelling back andforth in a vertical plane automatically, said elements including waterapplying and drying mechanism-adapted for application to opposite sidesof the window pane, said last named elements being individuallyadjustable toward and away from each other to facilitate theirapplication to the pane, said elements being fed by flexiblewater-conveying mechanism connecting the same and the water reservoir,said flexible elements communicating with both compartments'of thereservoir to receive clean water from one compartment and to convey usedor dirty water to the opposite compartment.

A full and clear description of a preferred embodiment of my inventionwill be set forth in this specification, more specifically pointed outin the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawingswhich form a part of this application and in Which- Fig. 1 is a view ofthe machine in side elevation and partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a front view.

Fig. 3 is a plan view partly'in section. Fig. 4 is an enlargedfragmentary sectional view detailing one pane-washing and drying elementand the means for adjustin the same at right angles to the pane.

Fig. 5 is a side view of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the rotary shaftsfor raising and lowerin the cleaning mechanism.

Fig.1 is a sectional detail of one water applying element employed.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of an endless belt employed.

Figs. 9 and 10 are fragmentary views of Fig. 14.

Fig. 11 is a section on line 11-11 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view of Fig. 14 with the adjustable parts in analtered positlon.

Fig. 13 ,is a fragmentary plan View of Fig. 14.

Fig. 14 is a view in side elevation of the hinged portion of the frameand the actuat ing means therefor.

Fig. 15 is a cross section through the bed plate and platform.

Like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

The machine omprises a water tank 1 supported upon wheels 2 and providedinteriorly witha longitudinally extending partition 3 that divides thetank into a clean water reservoir 4 and a dirty water reservoir 5.Secured to the front end of the tank is a casting 6 in which isjournaled a rotary shaft 7 provided at one end with the handle 8, saidshaftat its.opposite end be ing provided with a sprocket 10 in mesh withthe sprocket chain 9 which chain also passes about sprockets llthc hubsof which are threaded and receive the threaded posts 12 arranged totelescope into cavities in the four corners of the tank, each shaftbeing engaged by a pin 18 that extends into the platform 14 carried uponsaid shafts, said platform being provided with a leaf 15 secured theretoby a hinge 16. said leaf in raised position, shown in full lines in Fig.1, being supported by the sill of the window being washed.

Upon the platform 14 is a sliding bed plate 17 provided with tongues 17that slide in grooves formed in the platform, said bed plate forming thebase for the uprights 18 at the front end of the machine which areconnected by the cross beam 19; and for the hinged uprights 19, 20 atthe rear end of the machine connected by the cross beam 21, which isprovided with a pair of converging brace arms 22 between the spaced endsof which a shoe 23 is pivotally supported that slidably engages asectional rotary rot 24, the sections thereof being connected by a hinge25, said rod 24 having slidably keyed thereto a bevel gear 26, carriedby a casting 27 carried by a gear casing 28, in mesh with a bevel gear29; and terminally said rod 24 carries a bevel gear 30 in mesh with abevel gear 31' fast to one end of a shaft 32 extending longitudinallywithin a sleeve 33 disposed within the base plate 17 said shaft at itsforward end being provided with a crank 34.

Fast upon the sleeve 33, that runs loose upon the shaft 32, are thebevel gears 35, 36, said gears protruding through perforations in thebed plate into longitudinal grooves 36 in the platform 14 and being inmesh, respectively, with the bevel gears 37, 38 of the screw shafts 39,40 which extend from the bed plate through gear casings 41, 42respectively and are journaled in bearings formed in the cross beams 19,21, the screw shaft 40 being provided with a hinge 40. Within the gearcasing 41 and slidably keyed to the screw shaft 39 are the clutches 43,44 adapted for engagement with the worm gears 45, 46 which gears arecontinuously in mesh, respectively, with the worms 47, 48 of the wormshafts 49, 50 which shafts are connected by the meshing pinions 51, 52;the shaft 50 being driven by the motor 53. With the clutch 43 engagingthe worm shaft 45 the screw shaft 39 is driven in one direction, theclutch 44 then being idle. With the clutch 44 in engagement with theworm shaft 46 the screw shaft 39 is driven in the opposite direction andthe clutch 43 is idle. The screw shaft 39 through the medium of thebevel gears 37, 35, 36, 38 and the sleeve 33 drives the screw shaft 40.

The gear casing 28 aforesaid is operatively arranged upon the rotaryscrew shaft 40 and a similar gear casing 54 is operatively arranged uponthe screw shaft 39. As said screw shafts are rotated in one direction oranother the said gear casings are raised or lowered over said shafts,said gear casings being formed laterally with shoes 55 that slide ingrooved bearings 56 formed in the front and rear uprights 1818 and 1920. Arranged at the front end of the machine are the vertical shift rods57, 58 that extend from the bed plate through the gear casing 54, crossbeam 19 and are connected to levers 59, 60 fulcrumed, respectively, incastings 61, 62 arranged upon the said cross beam, said levers beingconnected to snap springs 63, 64 terminally pivoted to angle pieces 65,66 also carried by said cross beam 19. The shift rods are connected by aclutch rod 67 that operates the clutch 43, and by a clutch rod 63 thatoperates the clutch 44. When the gear casing 54 is raised by the screwshaft 39 until it contacts with the set collars 69, 70 it causes them toraise the shift rods to such a point that the snap springs will operateto continue the movement and so cause the clutch 43 to be disengagedfrom the worm gear 45 and rendered inoperative and the clutch '44 to bemoved into engagement 'with the worm gear 46 and so rendered operativethus reversing the movement of the screw shaft and causing the shaft 40likewise to reverse and the gear casings 54, 28 to descend. When thecasing 54 engages the set collars 71, 72 the clutches 43, 44 are againadjusted. and the movement of the shafts and gear casings againautomatically reversed.

Upon the screw shafts 39 and 40 and driven thereby are the large bevelgears 73, 74 which are in mesh, respectively, with the small bevel gears75, 76 the respective shafts 77, 7 8 of which are journaled in thecasings 54, 28 and are provided with gears 79, 80. The gear 79 or 80 isin mesh with the similar gears 81, 82 fast upon the adjustabletelescoping shafts 83, 84 journaled in the easings 54 or 28 andextending through perforations in a housing 85 or 85 and therewithinprovided terminally with the bevel gears 86, 87 in mesh with the bevelgears 88, 89 of a shaft 90 iournaled in braces of the housing 85 or 85'and provided terminally with the friction rollers 91, 92 that drive awringer roller 93, having its shaft journaled in the housing, saidwringer roller being in contact with and driving the endless washing anddrying belt 94, formed with perforations 94 that runs over the spacedrollers 95, 96 the shafts of which are supported in the standards 97secured to the base 98 of the housing.

Between the rollers 95, 96 within the belt 94 is a water reservoir 99formed with spray perforations 100, the water being supplied by pipes101 communicating with the reservoir 102 formed by the hollow base 98,said base being provided also with spray perforations 10 through whichwater is forced upon the belt and window panes in the same manner thatit is forced upon the belt through the spray perforations 100. lhe wateris forced, under pressure, into the reservoir base 98 through theflexible pipes 104 by means of the pump 105. arranged upon the bed plate17, said pump being beltconnected to and driven by the motor 53, saidpump drawing the water from the tank section 4 through pipe 106; thedirty water from the belt is received again in a drain portion 107 ofthe reservoir base and passes out through the flexible pipes 108 to thetank section 5.

The reservoir 98 is provided with a flexible lip 109 adapted to bearagainst the window in the casing 28 til) pane 110 as the belt .94operates, and a similar tongue 111 carried by the housing 85 bears uponthe belt 94 to carry off water to the drain portion of the reservoir 98;a scraper 112 carried by a partition of said reservoir likewise bearingagainst said belt for a similar purpose. A housing 85 similar in allrespects to the housing 85 is provided with all of the mechanism of thelatter which is numbered correspondingly, a description thereof beingtherefore unnecessary. The housing 85 is disposed opposite the housing85 and operates upon the opposite side of the pane 110. The housing 85is formed with an extension terminating within the casing 54 in racks113 and the housing 85 with a similar extension terminating within thecasing 28 in racks 114. Within the casing 54 is a shaft 115 providedwith a hand crank 116 having a spring finger 116 working over a circularrack 116 outside the casing, said shaft having large gears 11? and 118fast thereon which Work over the racks 113 whereby the housing 85 ismoved toward and away from the casing 54 to permit the belt 94 toapproach and contact with the window pane 110.

\Vithin the casing 28 a shaft 119 is provided with the large gears 120that work over the racks 114 to move the housing 85 and connectionstoward and away from the window pane. A stub shaft 121 journaled isconnected to the said shaft 119 by means of the bevel gears 122, saidstub shaft being driven from the rod 24 to which it is connected by theaforesaid bevel gears 29 26;

ilteferring again to the hinged uprights 19 20, the sections thereof areconnected by the pivot 123,the sections 19 terminating in the segmentalracks 124 in mesh with the gears 125 carried by the sections 20, saidgears being in mesh with worms 126 of the vertical shafts 127 journaledin bearings 128 carried by the upright sections 20, said shafts 127 attheir lower ends being connected by bevel gears 129 with bevel gears 130terminally carried by the connecting shaft 131, journaled in bearings132 secured to the bed plate 17, a bevel pinion 133 in mesh with one ofthe bevel gears 130 is carried terminally by a drive shaft 134 providedwith the hand crank Operation: The machine is moved from place to placeupon its wheels 2 by hand. lVith the tank compartment 4 partly orentirely filled with water it is moved into position before the windowto be washed, the leaf 15 is raised and rested upon the window sill. Thesliding bed plate is now pushed manually over the platform until itslongitudinal centralpoint is disposed approximately beneat A the windowpane 110. Should the window pane, in raised or open position, not behigh enough above the window sill to permit the passage therebeneath ofthe rear end of the frame of the machine the hinged standards are movedinto the position shown in Fig. 12. This is done by rotation of the handcrank 135 which causes rotation of the shafts 127 and gears 125 whichmove the segments 124; this operation also moves the upper section ofthe rod 24 upon its hinge 25, the shoe 23 sliding over said rod portionmeanwhile. The bent end of the frame may now be readily moved intoposition beneath the open window pane and it is then again moved intoerect position to permit the windowwashing and drying operation.

lVith the open pane 110 now lowered, as shown in Fig. 1, it is inposition between the ends of the frame of the machine. The housings 85,85 are now individually adjusted in position with the opposed belts 94both against the window pane. The pump 105 is now started which drawswater from the section 4 of the tank and forces it through the pipes106, 104 into the reservoir 98 and from the same through perforations103 upon the belt 94, and pane, the belt being operated by the motor 53.The water also passes from the reservoir 98 through the pipes 101 intothe reservoir 99 and out through the spray perforations 100 upon thebelt. The belt is now running in a direction to draw the water up overthe pane, the water passing out through the belt perforations 94 uponthe pane. The water will pass over the belt and, being removed by thescrapers 111 and 112 will pass into the drain portion of the reserovir98 and out through the pipes 108 into the compartment 5 of the tank.

The back and forth movement of the easings 28 and 54 and theirconnections has been previously described. As the mechanism moves upwardwith the casings 28, 54 travelling in an upward direction over theshafts 39, the belts 94 are so driven that that portion pressing againstthe window pane is mov ing in an upward direction and washing the pane.lVhen the travelling mechanism is reversed and begins to descend thedirectionv of movement of the belts 94 is reversed so that the beltportions pressing against the window pane are now travelling downward.The belts are now drying the pane. Although, with the pump in operation,water is being applied to the pane through the belt perforations thebelt as it passes over the upper roller 95 and against the pane is dry,the scrapers 112 and 111 as well as the wringer 93 having removed thewater therefrom. It is obvious, therefore, that the upward movement ofthe travelling mechanism causes the belts to wash the pane only, whilethe downward movement of that mechanism causes the belts to give thepane a final application of water and to follow this application bydrydesired. If preferred the pump may be provided with an ordinaryclutch which may be used to manually shut it 05 while the travellingmechanism is descending so that the descent may be a pane-dryingmovement only. The diameter of a roller 95 or 96 is less than one-halfinch so that the rollers and connecting belt 94 may be disposed betweenthe upper and lower window panes. In Fig. 4: this position is clearlyillustrated. The numeral 136 denotes the lower sash of the upper windowpane and the numeral 137 de notes the upper sash of the lower windowpane. The rollers and belt can be readily projected between the twowindow panes and there operated. The two window panes will be manuallyadjusted to permit and facilitate operation of the machine.

What is claimed is 1- 1. In window washing and drying mechanism, areservoir, a sliding bed plate, a support for said bed plate,reciprocating mechanism operatively supported upon said bed plate inengagement with a window pane, means for conveying water from saidreservoir to said reciprocating mechanism and applying the samesimultaneously to both sides of the window pane in one direction ofmovement of said mechanism and for drying both sides of the window paneduring movement in the opposite direction, said mechanism comprisingtravelling gear casings associated with housings individually adjustabletoward and away from the window pane.

2. In window washing and drying mechanism, a reservoir, an adjustablebed plate, a support for said bed plate, reciprocating mechanismoperatively supported upon said bed plate and travelling simultaneouslyover both sides of a window pane, means for conveying water from saidreservoir to said reciprocating mechanism and applying the same to bothsides of the window pane as said mechanism moves in one direction andfor drying the pane as said mechanism moves in the opposite direction,said mechanism comprising travelling gear casings associated withhousings individually adjustable toward and away from the window pane.

3. In window washing and drying mechanism, a reservoir, an adjustableplatform, a

sliding bed plate arranged upon said platform, screw shafts arrangedupon said bed plate, travelling casings operativelysupported upon saidscrew shafts, means carried by said casings for moving contact with thelateral faces of a window pane, said means including oppositely disposedrotary pane-engaging belts, said belts being adjustable horizontallyindividually, means for supplying water to said belts for distributionover the window pane, and a common source of power for actuating saidwater supplying means and said screw shafts.

4. In window washing and drying mechanism, a water reservoir, anadjustable platform carried thereby, a sliding bed plate arranged uponsaid platform, screw shafts arranged upon said bed plate, one of saidscrew shafts being formed of hinged sections, connection between saidscrew shafts, travelling casings operatively carried by said screwshafts, housings carried by said cas ings and adjustable relatively toeach other, oppositely disposed perforated window paneengaging beltscarried by said housings, water reservoirs carried by said housings,

water conveying means connecting all of said reservoirs whereby watermay be supplied to said belts to be distributed over the window pane,and a common power source for said water supply means and said screwshafts.

5. In window washing and drying mechanism, a water reservoir, anadjustable platform carried thereby, a sliding bed plate arranged uponsaid platform, a leaf hinged to said platform, screw shafts arrangedupon said bed plate, connection between said screw shafts, one of saidscrew shafts being formed of hinged sections, travelling casings carriedupon said screw shafts, means for automatically reversing the directionof movement of said screw shafts as said travelling casings approachtheir ends, housings carried by said casings, said housings beingrelatively adjustable, rotary oppositely disposed belts carried by saidhousings for engagement with opposite sides of a window pane, means forapplying water to said belts to be distributed over the window pane,scrapers for said rotary belts, wringers engaging said belts, andmeansfor driving said screw shafts and actuating said water supplymeans. 7

In testimony that I claim the foregoing asmy own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JULIUS MARTIN.

Witnesses:

ALBERT SKnvnz, WALTER Brenna

